Islamabad: Pakistan’s security forces killed 24 terrorists belonging to Indian proxy Fitna al-Khawarij in two separate intelligence-based operations (IBOs) carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Friday.
According to the military’s media wing, the first operation was conducted in Orakzai District on reported intelligence regarding the presence of khawarij militants. During the operation, security forces engaged a terrorist hideout, and after an intense exchange of fire, 14 militants were neutralised.
In a second intelligence-based operation in Khyber District, security forces engaged another group of terrorists, resulting in the killing of 10 more khawarij following a firefight, the ISPR said.
“Sanitisation operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area,” the statement said, adding that the relentless counterterrorism campaign under the vision of Azm-e-Istehkam will continue at full pace to eradicate foreign-sponsored terrorism from the country.
The operations follow the recently concluded Operation Radd-ul-Fitna-1, during which at least 216 terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Hindustan were eliminated after coordinated attacks targeting civilians across Balochistan.
The ISPR said those attacks claimed the lives of 36 innocent civilians, including women and children, along with 22 security and law enforcement personnel, who embraced martyrdom.
Earlier, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti stated that nearly 200 militants were involved in the attacks and deliberately used civilians as human shields. He also maintained that militant leadership continued to operate from across the border, alleging that Afghan soil is being used against Pakistan.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in cross-border terrorist incidents since the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan in 2021. The provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which share borders with Afghanistan, have remained the most affected.
In a press briefing on January 6, ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that law enforcement agencies carried out 75,175 intelligence-based operations across the country in 2025.
Providing a breakdown, he said 14,658 operations were conducted in KP, 58,778 in Balochistan, and 1,739 in other parts of the country.
He further revealed that 5,397 terrorism incidents were reported nationwide last year, including 3,811 in KP, 1,557 in Balochistan, and 29 incidents elsewhere. According to the DG ISPR, 2,597 terrorists were killed during counterterrorism operations in 2025, while civilians and soft targets were deliberately targeted in major attacks involving Afghan militants.